ORTEGA ACCUSES EMBASSY OF CONSPIRACY, EXPULSION

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 MANAGUA 000447 NOFORN SIPDIS DEPT FOR WHA ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHANNON DEPT ALSO FOR WHA/CEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/27/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV APER NU SUBJECT: ORTEGA ACCUSES EMBASSY OF CONSPIRACY, EXPULSION THREAT-TALK CONTINUES REF: A. MANAGUA 433 ¶B. MANAGUA 425 ¶C. 2008 MANAGUA 848 Classified By: Ambassador Robert J. Callahan for reasons 1.4 b & d. ¶1. (S/NF) SUMMARY. President Ortega's assertion that the U.S. Embassy is conspiring against him and that he is gathering information for an eventual response continue to be "topic A" in Managua. While independent media have responded with evident skepticism, various second-tier Sandinista officials have echoed his words. This week former President and convicted felon Arnoldo Aleman and senior figures from his Constitutional Liberal Party have seized on the U.S. conspiracy theme as well, but have made themselves the supposed victim. It is impossible to tell whether Ortega will follow the path of Chavez, Morales and Correa and go through with any expulsions of Embassy personnel or whether, as often happens here, the issue will die a natural death. END SUMMARY. Post-SOA Ortega: U.S. Conspiring Against Me, Expulsions Possible - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶2. (S/NF) During an April 22 appearance on Cuban television, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega accused the U.S. Embassy of conspiring to overthrow his government. As we reported in REFTEL B, Ortega comments and threats asserted that Embassy officials have been traveling throughout Nicaragua engaged in conspiratorial meetings. Ortega claimed he had "evidence" of these "conspiratorial activities" and promised to soon bring forward this information. He further implied that these revelations would force him to act, alluding to expulsions. In an additional bizarre twist, this week Arnoldo Aleman and senior PLC party figures have seized on the conspiracy theme as well, but have made themselves, not the Ortega government, the targets of our supposed skullduggery. Near Universal FSLN Support for Ortega's comments - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶3. (S/NF) Not surprisingly, reaction from most FSLN figures has been supportive of Ortega, and almost taken a tone of "It's about time." Initial public comment came from mostly second-tier FSLN officials -- Human Rights Ombudsman Omar Cabezas and FSLN International Relations Directorate member Jacinto Suarez. ¶4. (S/NF) The first FSLN official to comment was Presidential Economic Advisor, Bayardo Arce who actually sent a mixed message. On Thursday evening, Arce told media he believed that Ortega would not have made such assertions without some evidence, but also expressed his view that relations with the U.S. were "normal." He did express some surprise at Ortega's comments, adding that he would await Ortega's return for further explanation of the conspiracy. On Friday, Human Right Ombudsman Omar Cabezas clearly accepted Ortega's allegations of U.S. conspiracy, adding that if he were President, he would have called for expulsion of U.S. diplomats "a long time ago." Throughout the weekend, Jacinto Suarez was the face and voice of the FLSN response in print and on TV. Suarez, a senior member of the FSLN's International Relations Directorate and a Parlacen deputy, disputed Arce's assertion about normal relations by stating that the U.S. continued to conspire in the region, including in Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua. ¶5. (S/NF) This week, Gustavo Porras, a leading FSLN assembly member and Sandinista union leader, made matter-of-fact comments to National Assembly media that Nicaragua's unions, of course, supported Ortega's assertions that the U.S. Embassy was conspiring against the government. On Wednesday, April 29, Porras added to his screed by accusing Ambassador Callahan of inciting separatist actions by indigenous groups during a recent trip to the Atlantic Coast, as well as engaging in conspiratorial acts in Yugoslavia -- a location in which the Ambassador never set foot. Vice President Jaime Morales, himself a rather isolated figure, is the only GON official to express skepticism about the charges referring to "imaginary conspiracies." FSLN-Controlled Media "Confirms" U.S. Admission of Guilt - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶6. (S/NF) Over the last week, FSLN-controlled, government-friendly media have also repeated and expanded the conspiracy drumbeat. We have been told that last Friday afternoon (April 24),Radio Ya ran an information program about conspiratorial activities and travel of Embassy personnel, which identified the Embassy's Political Counselor by name. On both Monday and Tuesday, the FSLN-run electronic weekly "El 19," -- a reference to the July 19 date when the Sandinista Revolutionaries entered Managua -- ran multiple stories about the conspiratorial activities of the Embassy. Monday's lead story was headlined, "Callahan confirms his meetings with the Rightists to conspire against the government." The story is based on the Ambassador's Friday responses to media questions following the Merida signing ceremony, in which he stated that the Embassy does, in fact, meet with all sectors and levels of society, including opposition parties, church figures, government officials as well as sports, cultural and social figures, as is permitted under the diplomatic norms outlined in the Vienna Conventions. "El 19" focused on the "meet with opposition and church figures" portion ignoring the balance of his statement. Articles on Tuesday re-stated the Ambassador's "admission" as evidence of conspiracy. NOTE: "El 19" is the FSLN government's primary communications method with party faithful. It is regularly distributed in electronic format under a cover letter on official government logo and signed by Rosario Murillo. END NOTE. Pacto Supports Conspiracy, But with a Twist - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶7. (S/NF) One of the more bizarre aspects of this environment has been the reaction of the Constitutional Liberal Party (PLC). In what can only be described as a schizophrenic response, several senior PLC insiders, including PLC deputies Wilfredo Navarro and Francisco Aguirre Sacasa, denounced Ortega's comments as harmful to the national image, yet at the same time did attack Embassy activities, but as a conspiracy against Aleman and the PLC. Both Navarro and Aguirre have themselves taken very public postures. They, along with Aleman, have accused the Embassy of instigating and organizing this week's trip to Washington by Eduardo Montealegre; denouncing the visit as a direct assault on Aleman and the PLC, and as a move to isolate Ortega by ending all assistance including a definitive cessation of MCC. Aleman himself has aggressively tried to play the victim. His virulent attacks assert that the Embassy actions are the latest episode is the U.S. conspiracy to destroy Nicaragua's Liberals. He sought to position himself as the latest patriotic Liberal "victim" of the U.S. by invoking the so-called Knox Note sent in 1909 by the U.S. informing Nicaraguan Liberal President Zelaya he would be replaced, and the so-called "Carter Note" in 1979 informing Somoza that the U.S. would no longer support his regime. A Monday article in La Trinchera, a newsletter financed by Aleman's party, claimed that the U.S. had spent $30 million dollars in its recent "unsuccessful efforts to destroy" him and the PLC. Comment - - - - ¶8. (S/NF) Ortega has not yet returned to the theme of the Embassy conspiracy, and until then, his adherents will continue to bang the drum on this issue. With the media suggesting that he in effect "put up or shut up," we cannot rule out that he will take some ill-advised step, including possible expulsions. The termination of Millennium Challenge Corporation assistance, should it happen, could be a trigger. On the other hand, it is entirely possible that having squeezed the issue to the maximum by distracting Nicaragua's population from its very real problems, he will drop it for a while. In the meantime we will continue to engage, prudently but vigorously, with the full range of Nicaragua's democratic politicians and civic activists, consistent with our rights under the Vienna Conventions. CALLAHAN